1. Home
  2. Paris Lees

Paris Lees

What It Feels Like for a Girl

  • What It Feels Like for a Girl

  • "Fresh, original, heartbreaking" Reni Eddo-Lodge

    "Devastating, hilarious, unlike anything I have ever read. Destined to be a classic" Pandora Sykes

    'A must-read ... as mesmerising as it is poignant' Stylist, SPRING MUST-READ BOOKS TO FEEL EMPOWERED
    'This utterly distinctive memoir, written almost out loud in Nottinghamshire vernacular, hauls you into the world Lees grew up in... it's shocking, funny, heart-rending and totally brilliant' The Bookseller, EDITOR'S CHOICE MAY 2021
    'What It Feels Like for a Girl says it like it is' Evening Standard, BEST NEW BOOKS IN 2021

    Thirteen-year-old Byron needs to get away, and doesn't care how. Sick of being beaten up by lads for "talkin' like a poof" after school. Sick of dad - the weightlifting, womanising Gaz - and Mam, who pissed off to Turkey like Shirley Valentine. Sick of all the people in Hucknall who shuffle about like the living dead, going on about kitchens they're too skint to do up and marriages they're too scared to leave.

    It's a new millennium, Madonna's 'Music' is top of the charts and there's a whole world to explore - and Byron's happy to beg, steal and skank onto a rollercoaster ride of hedonism. Life explodes like a rush of ecstasy when Byron escapes into Nottingham's kinetic underworld and discovers the East Midlands' premier podium-dancer-cum-hellraiser, the mesmerising Lady Die. But when the comedown finally kicks in, Byron arrives at a shocking encounter that will change life forever.

    Bold, poignant and riotously funny, What It Feels Like For a Girl is the unique, hotly-anticipated and addictively-readable debut from one of Britain's most exciting young writers.

Paris Lees was born in Hucknall, Nottinghamshire. She is a Contributing Editor at British Vogue, and has written for the Guardian, VICE and the Telegraph. She has received multiple awards for her journalism and work as an anti-bullying campaigner - and an honorary doctorate from the University of Brighton. She was the first openly trans woman to present on BBC Radio 1 and Channel 4 and also the first to appear on Question Time. This is her first book.

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience. For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Our Use of Cookies

We use cookies on this site to enable certain parts of the site to function and to collect information about your use of the site so that we can improve our visitors’ experience.

For more on our cookies and changing your settings click here

Strictly Necessary

Strictly Necessary cookies enable core functionality such as security, network management, and accessibility. You may disable these by changing your browser settings, but this may affect how the website functions. See More.

Analytics

Analytics cookies help us to improve our website by collecting and reporting information on how you use it. These cookies may be set by us or by third-party providers whose services we have added to our pages. See More.

Preferences & Features

Preference and Feature cookies allow our website to remember choices you make, such as your language preferences and any customisations you make to pages on our website during your visit. See More.

Targeting / Advertising

Targeting cookies are used to make advertising messages more relevant to you and your interests. They perform functions like preventing the same content from reappearing, ensuring ads are displayed and, in some cases, selecting content based on your interests. See More.